A top diplomat said the Trump administration might not need an immediate inventory of nuclear assets from North Korea, a shift that could help diplomacy.
WASHINGTON — A top American diplomat signaled on Thursday that the United States might no longer demand that North Korea turn over a complete inventory of its nuclear assets as a first step in the denuclearization process that President Trump is pursuing.
The diplomat, Stephen E. Biegun, said in his first public speech that “before the process of denuclearization can be final, we must have a complete understanding of the full extent of the North Korean W. M. D. and missile programs through a comprehensive declaration.”
Mr. Biegun, appointed in August to be special representative for North Korea, was speaking to a room of North Korea experts at Stanford University. His reference to the timing of North Korea releasing a full list of its weapons of mass destruction indicates that the United States could be more flexible about at what point in the negotiations the list is handed over than American officials had previously indicated.
If American negotiators drop their demand that the list is an essential first step in denuclearization, that would remove one obstacle that has hampered diplomacy since a summit meeting last June between Mr. Trump and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader.
Based on Mr. Biegun’s statement, the requirement now is that North Korea give international officials the list sometime before it ends its nuclear program for good, a process that could take years.
Mr. Trump said he plans to meet with Mr.
